RE: On several other teams trading up in round 2
Scott Fitterer: It’s hard when you don’t have a lot of picks to start with. You have to kind of pick and choose your spot. We were fortunate to get (Jonathan) Mingo. It kind of fell how we thought it would fall. The first pick all the way down to 39. It went clean off the board. When you really look at it, there was like a run. Pass rushers went, and you get in that third round, If you don’t go up and get a pass rusher at that point, there’s really not much left. We’re looking at the board now and you can argue it both ways. But I think we did the right thing based on our board, based on our team. We went up and were aggressive and did that.
RE: On what they liked about Jonathan Mingo
Frank Reich: Size, speed, elite ball skills. Good scheme fit for us. Will be physical in the run game. Really checks a lot of boxes for us in a lot of ways.
RE: On why they traded up for DJ Johnson
Scott Fitterer: Like I said, he was one of the last pass rushers on the board. You never want to force a need. But this is a 6’4″ 260-pound guy that ran 4-4. He’s got rare traits. With our staff and the conviction that EJ (Ejiro Evero) and Dom (Capers) and our coaching staff had with him, the way our scouts felt about him. There’s a ton of development with him. His upside is huge. He’s a guy that’s played tight end, he’s played defensive end. Once he settles in and gets the coaching, this guy could be a force off the edge. I think his best ball is in front of him.
RE: On DJ Johnson’s test numbers and if he may be a better fit at outside linebacker
Frank Reich: There’s a couple different styles of outside linebackers in our system. Ideally, you do have the size where you need to set a hard edge, stop the run. Then as far as rushing the passer, I just said there’s the bend rush then there’s speed to power. There’s a lot of different ways to affect the quarterback. Ideally, we talk about it on our defense. We’re looking for four guys. So you got one through four. You can have different types of guys. Obviously, (Brian) Burns is number one. He’s the speed guy. We really see DJ (Johnson) as kind of a power guy. Then as Scott (Fitterer) said, continue to develop him into a more complete player.
RE: On if they viewed the receiver position as a “need” or did you feel like you had to force it like you did with DJ Johnson
Scott Fitterer: No because you have to look long-term when you’re building this. There’s one thing about talent evaluation and…
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